Donnie Avery vs Desean Jackson vs 2008 2nd Round WR Class

So I know what your thinking, another thread bashing the decision of the Rams front office for picking Avery instead of Jackson? Wrong. This always seems to surface in any discussion about the Rams WRs, and it's plain foolishness. Of course hindsight is 20/20, and because Jackson is the cream of the 2008 WR draft crop, everyone assumes that the Rams should have somehow magically been able to know this would happen. Well what about the 6 other teams that passed on him when choosing a WR in the 2nd round? Are they foolish as well? The Redskins, Packers, Bills, Broncos & Bengals all chose another WR.

Most draft "experts" had Thomas, Sweed, and Hardy ranked at the top of the class and none went in round 1, and all went after Avery. I personally, along with a lot of Rams fans, wanted Devin Thomas, the near concensus #1 WR in the draft when he fell to the Rams. I'm not wishing we did, just saying who it was I wanted.

Let's take a look at those 10 in detail and see how they are doing.

To make this simple let's list these stats:
Games/////Catches/Yards/TDs/////Kick Returns/KR yards/////PRs/PRYards/Return TDs

Malcolm Kelly - Currently on IR for Redskins.
21/////28/365/0/////0/0/////0/0/0

Limas Sweed - Currently on IR for Steelers.
20/////7/69/4/////0/0/////1/0/0

Dexter Jackson - Cut by Bucs after 1st year. Signed & cut by the Panthers the next year & signed by no one. The definiton of a bust.
7/////0/0/0/////14/327/////20/97/0

So why did I waste the time to post all that? Not sur really other than to show that the majority of the "experts" as well as every other NFL team were wrong about Jackson too. If he was such a lock pre-draft why did everyone pass on him once int the 1st round, and 17 teams do it in the 2nd? Because THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PRE-DRAFT LOCK. GET THAT IN YOUR HEADS AND QUIT JUDGING IN HINDSIGHT PEOPLE.

Avery ranks 3rd out of all the recievers taken in the draft in 2008 based on stats alone, which is good considering he could've been a true bust like several of the others taken in the 2nd round.

Re: Donnie Avery vs Desean Jackson vs 2008 2nd Round WR Class

Originally Posted by RamFan_Til_I_Die

So I know what your thinking, another thread bashing the decision of the Rams front office for picking Avery instead of Jackson? Wrong. This always seems to surface in any discussion about the Rams WRs, and it's plain foolishness. Of course hindsight is 20/20, and because Jackson is the cream of the 2008 WR draft crop, everyone assumes that the Rams should have somehow magically been able to know this would happen. Well what about the 6 other teams that passed on him when choosing a WR in the 2nd round? Are they foolish as well? The Redskins, Packers, Bills, Broncos & Bengals all chose another WR.

Most draft "experts" had Thomas, Sweed, and Hardy ranked at the top of the class and none went in round 1, and all went after Avery. I personally, along with a lot of Rams fans, wanted Devin Thomas, the near concensus #1 WR in the draft when he fell to the Rams. I'm not wishing we did, just saying who it was I wanted.

Let's take a look at the 6 guys drafted before the beloved Desean Jackson and see how they are doing.

To make this simple let's list these stats:
Games/Catches/Yards/TDs/Kick Returns/KR yards/PRs/PRYards/Return TDs

Dexter "The Other" Jackson - Cut by Bucs after 1st year. Signed and cut by the Panthers the next year. Been a FA for a year. The definiton of a bust.
7/0/0/0/14/327/20/97/0

So why did I waste the time to post all that? Not sur really other than to show that the majority of the "experts" as well as every other NFL team were wrong about Jackson too. If he was such a lock pre-draft why did everyone pass on him once int the 1st round, and 17 teams do it in the 2nd? Because THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A PRE-DRAFT LOCK. GET THAT IN YOUR HEADS AND QUIT JUDGING IN HINDSIGHT PEOPLE.

Avery ranks 3rd out of all the recievers taken in the draft in 2008 based on stats alone, which is good considering he could've been a true bust like several of the others taken in the 2nd round.

Re: Donnie Avery vs Desean Jackson vs 2008 2nd Round WR Class

Originally Posted by First Call Roger

Can you also provide us with punt return comparisons, too, or does that slant it even further in favor of Jackson? Really good GMs pick the players who end up performing the best. That is kind of what makes them really good GMs. DeSean Jackson was rated above Avery on all the pre-draft boards. Thanks.

Since every GM in the NFL passed on him once, and half twice, I fail to see your point. They really should rename it the NFL Lottery. Sure you can make the odds better in your favor, but it's still a crap shoot. Anyone who doesn't realize that is blind. How does a 6th rounder like Tom Brady turn into one of the best QBs in modern football? Who knows. Are the Patriots draft gods because they knew how good he would be when no one else did? Nope. They got lucky.

Oh and the return stats were in there already, made it a bit easier to read. No one on this board is questioning how good Desean Jackson is. We're questioning the intelligence of those that think "really good GMs" should have known he'd be the best WR in the draft. On almost every board Thomas, Sweed, and Hardy were rated above Desean Jackson. So how'd tht work out for the guys that drafted them?

Re: Donnie Avery vs Desean Jackson vs 2008 2nd Round WR Class

Originally Posted by RamFan_Til_I_Die

Since every GM in the NFL passed on him once, and half twice, I fail to see your point. They really should rename it the NFL Lottery. Sure you can make the odds better in your favor, but it's still a crap shoot. Anyone who doesn't realize that is blind. How does a 6th rounder like Tom Brady turn into one of the best QBs in modern football? Who knows. Are the Patriots draft gods because they knew how good he would be when no one else did? Nope. They got lucky.

Oh and the return stats were in there already, made it a bit easier to read. No one on this board is questioning how good Desean Jackson is. We're questioning the intelligence of those that think "really good GMs" should have known he'd be the best WR in the draft. On almost every board Thomas, Sweed, and Hardy were rated above Desean Jackson. So how'd tht work out for the guys that drafted them?

This poster First Call Roger is clearly smarter than all of us, and should probably immediately take over for Devaney as GM. I will make the call ...

Re: Donnie Avery vs Desean Jackson vs 2008 2nd Round WR Class

Originally Posted by First Call Roger

Can you also provide us with punt return comparisons, too, or does that slant it even further in favor of Jackson? Really good GMs pick the players who end up performing the best. That is kind of what makes them really good GMs. DeSean Jackson was rated above Avery on all the pre-draft boards. Thanks.

Re: Donnie Avery vs Desean Jackson vs 2008 2nd Round WR Class

Re: Donnie Avery vs Desean Jackson vs 2008 2nd Round WR Class

Originally Posted by 1980RAMS

Avery has been hurt the last 2 seasons. A player who gets hurt every season is a ..... not very good.

We need a #1 solid WR

Excellent point. A WR who has a history of being injury prone cannot be counted on. I hope he returns next season and performs well. Unfortunately, Devaney has picked Burton (cut), Foster (cut), and Gilyard who has not performed up to expectations yet.